Phrase Net Shows the Secret Life of Words

When you read a book it can feel as if youâ€™re encountering a series of hidden networksâ€“characters who talk to each other, ideas that relate to each other. Our new visualization, the Phrase Net, is designed to bring some of these networks to light.

Upload a body of text and choose connecting words like and or the and the Phrase Net provides a network of words that shows these connections.

For example, the above is a Phrase Net for Pride and Prejudice with “and” selected as the connecting phrase. We see a relationships between Jane and Elizabeth, Caterhie and Lydia, and mother and sister. Choose “at” as the connecting word, and you see the places where a lot of things took place:

Interact with the the Phrase Net with zooming and dragging or enter your own connecting phrases. It took me a moment to wrap my head around the concept, but after playing with it a little bit, I’m kind of surprised by the patterns that emerged. Try it out for yourself (below). What do you think?